Where it shows up isn't where it starts.
A 12-year-old is late on fastballs all fall. His coach says his hands are slow. So the winter plan becomes hands: tee work, one-hand drills, a few hundred swings a week. He shows up to spring tryouts, and he's still late.
After 25+ years developing players, as coaches and as parents, we've seen that story more times than we can count. The work wasn't lazy. It was aimed at the wrong spot. The hands were where the problem showed up, not where it started.
Mechanics matter. They're one piece of the swing, and they're usually where you first notice something is off. But "late on fastballs" can come from several different places:
A mechanical piece: his load starts too late, so his hands never get a head start.
A mobility piece: his hips and shoulders can't separate yet. They turn together as one unit, so there's no stretch for the swing to fire from, and the hands end up doing all the work. At 12, that disassociation often isn't there yet, and no amount of hand drills will create it. It has to be built with mobility work first.
A strength piece: he isn't strong enough yet to move the bat he's swinging at game speed.
A workload piece: he's taking hundreds of swings with no recovery built in, and he's tired every time he steps in.
A mental piece: he's guessing, or swinging not to strike out, or still carrying the last at-bat into this one.
Each of those needs a different fix. Another thousand tee swings only fixes the first one.
HOW WE APPROACH IT
First, identify the issue. Then test to find the root cause. Then build a plan around the whole player to correct it: the body that powers the swing, the mechanics, the mind that has to make decisions and handle failure, and the character that holds up when the season doesn't go his way.
That plan runs every week, in order, and it gets tracked. Film from the same angle. A re-test at the end. That way the improvement is something he can see, not something everyone hopes happened.
Our free Hitting Development Self-Assessment is a good first step. Fifteen quick questions across the five areas that drive hitting development: weight room, movement and mobility, drill work and mechanics, hitting IQ, and competitive development. It even asks whether his hips and shoulders can separate. His lowest-scoring area shows where the plan should start, and the worksheet helps you set a four-week plan around it. Printable, and you can do it together in about 15 minutes.
P.S. Ready for the full system? The Off-Season Hitting Development Plan is 12 weeks built around strength, movement, drill work, hitting IQ, and competitive development, with testing at the start and finish. $59, instant download.
Train with purpose. Develop with a plan.
Jordan Reyes
Athlete & Coach Support Specialist
Homebase Sports Co.
Email: info@homebasesportsco.com
Phone: 479-259-1789
Website: www.homebasesportsco.com
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